CLEVELAND -- A star-crossed season for Guardians center fielder Lane Thomas might finally be headed in the right direction.
Thomas belted a three-run homer in his second straight game at Progressive Field, taking Chad Green deep in the seventh inning of a 10-6 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night. It was just his second home run of the year.
The 29-year-old added a single, a walk and had a 395-foot flyout to center field in a 2-for-4 evening, sparking memories of his magical 2024 American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers.
“This game is hard enough when you’re completely healthy, so having some downtime twice already and trying to work through some things hasn’t been easy,” said Thomas, who raised his average to .165.
“But I think I’m in a good spot and moving in the right direction, so I feel good about it.”
Good fortune for Thomas has been rare since the start of this season, when a bruised right wrist forced him to miss a month. Just four games following his return, he went back on the injured list with right plantar fasciitis.
Thomas hammered a three-run home run off Reds reliever Joe La Sorsa on June 11 -- Cleveland’s final contest before a nine-game road trip -- before struggling on the entire West Coast journey.
Though he hit just .115 (3-for-26) against the Mariners, Giants and Athletics, Thomas felt his confidence growing as a result of his first consistent action since last year’s AL Championship Series against the New York Yankees.
“Yeah, absolutely, I kind of felt good that whole road trip,” he said. “Maybe a couple of balls didn't fall here and there, but I think I'm moving in the right direction.”
Cleveland fans will long remember Thomas’ grand slam in the decisive Game 5 of the ALDS against Detroit, putting an exclamation point on his nine-RBI series. It was exactly what the Guardians hoped for when acquiring him in a July 29 trade with Washington.
Thomas’ success at Progressive Field has continued in limited action this season, featuring a .375 average, two homers and six RBIs in six games. He has badly scuffled on the road, with a .123 average and three RBIs in 24 games.
“It’s huge, what Lane did tonight,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “Any time our guys are getting multiple hits, they’re hitting multiple balls hard and they’re working walks.”
Carlos Santana and Kyle Manzardo also had solo homers against the Blue Jays, helping the Guardians score six runs for the second time this month. The other was in the aforementioned game against Cincinnati, which wound up an 11-2 victory.
“It was great to see Lane and Manzo and Carlos driving it out of the ballpark,” Vogt said. “There were a lot of highlights from tonight. Just unfortunately, they scored a lot more runs than we did.”